Day 169: The End

Day 169 - Wednesday, September 26th 2018: Dalkey to Dublin (The Spire) 15 km / Total 3484 km, 21°C, sunny

Hostel in a city with airport means guests arriving in middle of the night and leaving in the very early morning. So my sleep was interrupted several times. For sure I'll be happy to get my own bedroom again, with my own shower and my own toilets.

I didn't have many kilometres left to finish my trip, and as I planned to make my arrival live on Facebook, I chose to start in the early afternoon. First I had to take the DART to go 13 stations back to Dalkey. It was incredible how this town was quiet compared to Dublin. I quickly reached the seafront. Sunshine was back, sea and sky where blue, and it was almost 20°C ! On the other side of Dublin's Bay I could see Howth Peninsula, where I spent my first night. That was funny, because for my last day, I had 15kms to walk along the South Coast of the bay, while on my first day I walked 15 kms along the North Coast of the bay. 

The weather was so good on that day, that in Dun Laoghaire I saw some people swimming in the sea. Not only old people, also some working men during their lunch break. Later in the afternoon, there was some teenagers working out along the beach. They were supposed to be running, but most of them just walked. Come on guys!

In fact, I realized it's possible to walk along the sea all along Dublin's Bay, there's a footpath. And I think it can be done as well by bike. 

I entered Dublin near the Grand Canal, the modern business area of Dublin, where new buildings are built for Google. There I really had to stop as my feet were sore again. I went to an Italian coffee where I got a chai and a chocolate éclair. The manager asked me if I did a long walk. Oh yes!

I started a live video on Facebook just before crossing the Liffey River. Crossing that river was symbolic for me, as getting on the other side meant I had walked the whole coastline of Ireland. How different my arrival was compared to my departure. Because it was Sunday morning, the day after St Patrick, and snowing, there was almost no one in the streets. While for my sunny arrival, there was a lot of people around me. I was probably looking crazy talking to my phone while filming me.

I think I didn't realize it was the end until I reached the Spire, where all started six months ago. When I touched it, I had tears in my eyes, because I did it. 3484 kms! 

That was funny, because I felt I started years ago, and at the same time it was like a short walk. I didn't feel how hard it was. No it wasn't hard. It was just long.

Ellie was there, waiting for me. I was happy that someone was there. She hugged me and congratulated me. We went to my hostel to drop my bag. My last night in a hostel before going back to France where I'll be resting because my body needed to recover. Then we went to drink something to celebrate the end of my trip. And finally she brought me to a Japanese restaurant where I offered her the dinner and where I could eat sushis, which was the best idea to reward me. I was very happy to spend the evening with her, sharing about our mutual walk. 

That was the reflect of my trip: meeting wonderful people!